New Details Page Too Cluttered: Put Critical Items On Top (Bury Others in Submenus)

V Norton

The New Person Detail page is WAY too cluttered: it's like keeping every utensil from a junk drawer on the top of your kitchen counter--making it difficult to find/grab the 7 tools you use most. Please put the most important items on top--and bury the rest in a drawer (submenu) 'til needed.

As a genealogist and FH consultant, here are the items on the page that I need most (+items that are in my way--as they are rarely used or TMI at this point--want to access them later.)

Most Critical Data: Vitals: Name, Birth, Death (and possibly Burial) Family Members: Spouse, Marriage, Children, Parents, ("Marriage" is hard to see in this version-preferred having it boxed off as in previous version.)

Most Critical Tools: Search Records (FS & Ancestry+1 more) could bury the rest. Most used: Possible Duplicates, Merge, Show Changes

Clutter--It's In My Way at Top Level:

--The Living Person Warning--Taking up too much screen real estate. Should be cut to 1 line and put in smaller type: Cut to: "Living Person. Only you can see and edit this person in Family Tree. However, anyone could potentially see the attached photos, documents, and stories. Learn more."

-- Other Information, Events: TMI at first--want to drill down later. Prefer default is collapsed w/a down arrow. It's frustrating to have to scroll thru this to reach Family Members!

-- Research Help (Rarely used, too general to be helpful, often confuses patrons, eats up the prime screen real estate--would love to see Search Records occupy this top right space.)

--Latest Changes: Generally don't care, default could be collapsed. (But Show All Changes link needs to be accessible.)

--Tools: Too many in the list! (Once you get past 5 please use a submenu) Display Possible Duplicates and Merge by ID and Report Abuse and Delete Person. The rest in submenu.

Notes--Feels totally out of place on the right between Search & Latest Changes.! Please move below Life History on the left--as it is something you are entering and you are making all other entries on the left side of the page.

--Other Relationships-Fine at Bottom

--Brief Life History--Preferred this in scrollable box at top of screen as in previous version.

While it's true that you can customize the page, 98% of people don't want to have to use this feature and be forced to design their own workable page. What they want most is a streamlined, clearcut default. Then the 2% who care can drill down and customize the page.

I am a U.S. researcher & consultant; others may have a different "critical" list (Europeans may find "christening" critical.) You should be able to tell/infer from your web reports which items are most clicked/used; these items that should be on the top menu with other items/tools tucked neatly away in submenu "drawers."

Julia Szent-Györgyi

Given that my analogy for the new layout is one of those (annoying) kitchen cabinets that has drawers behind (double) doors, and given that one of the most frequent complaints about it is the excess whitespace, it feels like you must be looking at a different page than everyone else. There's very little change in content from the old layout -- just some new tools and some extra access to old ones -- so if this feels cluttered to you, then the old version must have, as well.

I think you're misremembering how marriages appeared in the old version. They were squeezed in between the two names, with no box.

If the living person warning is in your way, maybe re-consider what purpose those profiles really serve. In my opinion, they're merely connectors: they don't need -- and should not have -- more detail than a name or nickname to identify them by. The best way to protect private data online is to not put it online in the first place. Keep track of your living relatives in an offline tree.

I disagree vehemently with relegating the extra access to collaboration notes to the bottom of the page. The whole point is to make that tool more visible and easy to use.

I never use anything in the Search Records box. If that box went away entirely, I wouldn't notice. You can't assume that your way of doing things is how everyone else does it, too.

And please don't add any "more..." links. I hate them with a passion and would be overjoyed if they were banned from the internet. I prefer my content right there on the page, not hidden behind extra clicks.

I do agree that the scrollable box right there in the biography was better than the current popup nonsense, but luckily I never use that section.

Gordon Collett

RE: "-- Other Information, Events: TMI at first--want to drill down later. Prefer default is collapsed w/a down arrow. It's frustrating to have to scroll thru this to reach Family Members!"

Once you have closed this section, it stays closed until you open it. Best to have it open at first for new users so they know what it contains. I've been surprised by the number of users who apparently have never noticed the "View Details" sliders in the information section. Many have complained when first coming to the new pages about all the "clutter" in the Vitals section who just did not realize all that information was always there but they just never discovered how to view it.

RE: "Notes--Feels totally out of place on the right between Search & Latest Changes.! Please move below Life History on the left--as it is something you are entering and you are making all other entries on the left side of the page.

The position of the Notes pod was a compromise for people who insisted that the Brief Life History had to be at that top because that is where they put all the important warning notes and cautions about a person. Keeping the Notes pod on the left near the top of the page gives a place to have the warnings in clear view.

Anything viewed as clutter can just be closed. Work on the page this way if you wish:

The page will stay this way until you open a section.